Under My Umbrella
by Unnatural Disaster
Summary: In Japanese culture,when two people like each other enough, they would share an umbrella. As for Kiku, sharing an umbrella is the last thing in his mind when he's around Heracles. JapanxGreece, not really AU.


****

**A/N: Well, another short-cough- one shot that I wrote. I asked a friend to look over it, she really helped and I value a second opinion, which she gave me. Well, she told me to credit her as _mentallyunstable_ (which I highly doubt). Anyways, I also ran through this story a couple of times, and I fixed most of the mistakes I caught. It means I'm human and I can't catch all of them. Maybe someday, when I get a promotion in the grammar academy. Anyways, thank you for clicking on the link and giving this story a chance. :) Reviews are appreciated. **

**On with the story.**

****

**

* * *

**

Kiku Honda lowered his head, not wanting to meet the intense gaze of the Grecian man that sat diagonally from him.

The Japanese man let out a small sigh, and raised his head again. It's disrespectful to lower one's head when someone is speaking, and the person speaking in this case was Alfred. The American kept rambling on about nonsense on global warming, Kiku didn't pay close attention to what he said at all, instead, he used all his will power not to look at the Grecian man. After all, he was the cause of his shitty day so far.

Kiku would've normally paid close attention to the American man's ramblings; it was what he would always do when he called the nations to these meetings. Around half way into these meetings, he would make sure that all the nations agree with his ridiculous plans, which would cause a small uproar between him and England. They would then banter back and forth, the argument starting from how America was a retard to how England's face looked stupid, with a wide range of garbage in between. Kiku would sometimes find this either amusing, taking notes of the insults exchanged or find the not-so-small argument grating on his nerves, slowly driving him to insanity.

Today was one of those days where their small show resulted in him experiencing the latter option. Taking a deep breath, he knew the meeting was going to be over soon. Germany would soon silence them all and start spewing out strict rules that he would force everyone to abide by, due to the fact that he is a very intimidating person. No one dares to challenge him, except for maybe Russia, but he's usually too busy doing inappropriate things to China.

The spat between America and England just started, Kiku felt as if their voices were nails on a chalkboard, with every word the spoke the Japanese man cringed. It was one of those days where he didn't want to do anything, except lay in his futon at home and drink green tea all day.

He tried to focus on what's going on besides the little feud between America and England. Glancing around the room, he observed the interactions between his fellow nations. Russia was touching China inappropriately, causing China to squeal and then glared at Russia. The psychotic Russian responded by smiling at the pissed off Chinese man and continuing making more unsuitable touches towards the man. Kiku's eyes immediately wandered somewhere else, not wanting to dwell on the interactions between the former communist countries. He noticed Prussia, who wasn't supposed to be here, talking to and empty seat next to him. Kiku squinted his eyes and realized there was a man hugging a polar bear sitting there. His name was on the tip of his tongue…

Forgetting the strange duo, his eyes wandered around the room, most of the other nations, chattered amongst themselves or were eating something. He avoided Greece on purpose, not wanting to make eye contact, despite the fact that he was probably sleeping. Italy was just snoozing on the table and next to him was a very annoyed Germany. His blond eyebrow twitched at every word that came out of the idiotic trio, somehow France was pulled into the argument.

Kiku counted down in his head when Germany was going to explode. He knew it was around… now.

"That's it! All of you, shut the fuck up already. We're here to discuss issues that would benefit the world and us all, so stop the fucking nonsense," Germany got up and slammed his hands on the table, immediately silencing everyone and waking up those who were taking a nap. He radiated a pissed off aura, and everyone seemed to gulp or just looked away, not wanting to mess with the German.

"If you want to speak, raise your hand. You have two minutes, to state your issue or anything that would benefit us, I'm not allowing you to go over two minutes, so make it short and to the point," there was a hint of malice in Germany's demanding voice.

Italy, who was previously sleeping, wiped his hands against his mouth, clearing the drool that escaped from his mouth. He raised his hands, waving rapidly in the air, trying to catch Germany's attention.

Germany cocked an eyebrow at the Italian, "Yes, Italy?"

"Pasta~!" The Italian shouted.

Choruses of groans were emitted from the nations as a response to the Italian's craving for pasta.

"… You know what. Let's just leave."

Germany sighed, moping at the fact that he wasted another yet at these useless meeting called by the American idiot. Everyone seemed to agree with his last sentence, since they all got up and proceeded to leave the meeting room. Italy trailed behind Germany; they were the first ones to leave.

Kiku got up quickly, not wanting the Grecian man to catch him before he left.

He let out a relieved sigh.

He knew there was a reason that he allied with Italy and Germany in World War Two.

* * *

Kiku rushed out of the meeting room. He power walked towards the stairs, and grabbed hold of the banister. Using the momentum he gained from walking rapidly, he propelled himself off the banister. The Japanese man jumped from staircase to staircase. It was quicker and more efficient than just running down the stairs, albeit it was more dangerous. He soon reached the first floor, and saw the double doors that would lead him to the outside world and probably far away from the Grecian man.

Kiku arrived at the double doors within seconds, and pulled it open-

"Hey, Kiku," The Japanese man froze at the rich, deep but quiet voice. It was too late.

He soon felt an arm draped against his neck, Kiku immediately tensed at the contact, but still kept his cool. He gave a regretful glance at the double doors; he was so close yet so far.

"Good afternoon Heracles-san," Kiku turned around to see vivid jade eyes staring at him.

"Aw, Kiku," Heracles teased, "I'm still just Heracles-san to you?"

"Heracles-kun. Is that better?" Kiku asked, his voice at a monotone.

"I rather you lose the ending and call me Heracles, but I guess that's fine," the Grecian responded nonchalantly, "Can I come over to your place again?"

Kiku kept his cool exterior, but in the inside, he was panicking, trying to think of the most suitable excuse to use in order to circumvent this problem.

"I can't. Feliciano-kun and Ludwig-kun invited me over to their place to eat pasta," Kiku said, avoiding Heracles's calculating jade eyes.

"Eh? You mean Italy and Germany? I'm pretty sure they don't mind if I tagged along, besides, Italy will get a kick out making extra servings of pasta," Heracles responded swiftly, his answer didn't have a single flaw. Kiku's brown eyes met Heracles's, whose eyes were conveying the message 'I-got-you' and 'what-are-you-going-to-do-now?'.

"Oh, it seems like I was mistaken. They invited me to their house next week. But I already have plans. My boss is making me attend a formal tea party, and other countries are going to be there," Kiku lied once more, hoping that the Grecian would buy it this time.

"Really? I'll ask my boss to ask yours if we can go. Besides, they can discuss the trading relationships between our countries," Heracles countered again, this time his voice was laced with slight irritation. The Grecian man was very stubborn, and Kiku himself was getting aggravated.

"I'm sorry; it seems like my memory is slipping from me today," Kiku began, his brown eyes filled with defeat, "It looks like I have nothing on my schedule today. You can come over."

Heracles eyes lit up, his lips curved just a bit into a smirk, "Let's get going then."

Kiku sighed, and opened the double doors-

"Kikuuuuuu!" The Japanese man turned around, wondering why that energetic voice with a slightly annoying quality to it was so familiar.

Then it hit him.

Literally.

Kiku was suddenly engulfed in a bear hug, the perpetrator was an American by the name of Alfred F. Jones, blond and blue eyed, standing over six feet and had the brute strength of three elephants.

Kiku gasped for his breath, pounding on the American's back, trying to get him to release his hold on him. So maybe Kiku was exaggerating slightly, America only has the strength of two elephants. Despite this, it didn't change the fact that he was currently being strangled to death by a man who was probably a good foot taller than him. After pounding his back for the umpteenth time, Kiku finally got the American's attention on him. At this point, Kiku was pretty sure he was blue.

"Eh? Kiku, you wanted to say something?" Alfred released his hug, and the Japanese man collapsed immediately, gasping for breath.

Alfred got down, and looked at the Japanese man in concern, "Kiku, you alright?"

"Y-y-yes, Alfred-kun," Kiku rasped, sometimes he wondered if Alfred knew his own strength. Kiku also wondered if the American did any damage to his windpipe. It took a while for him to regain his breath. Getting up, he glanced around, and noticed a mop of slightly curled brown hair.

Ten feet away.

Kiku realized that when American jumped on him and proceeded to 'hug'(strangle) him, he knocked Heracles ten feet away. The Grecian man just sat there on the floor, dazed and confused at what just happened.

Heracles got up, and sprinted towards the duo.

"Hi, America," Heracles greeted, giving him a slight nod.

"Oh, don't call me that, call me Alfred," Alfred responded, flashing him one of his 1000 watt smiles, "You're Heracles, right?"

The Grecian was slightly miffed at that fact that the American called him by his human name without his permission, but nodded anyways.

"Cool," he whistled and faced Kiku again. Draping an arm around the Japanese man, America smiled, "So, my bee-eff-eff, ready for that all day scary movie marathon we planned today?"

Three words were running through Kiku's mind right now.

God bless America.

* * *

To say that he was annoyed every time the stupid American put his arm around _Kiku_ and buried his head in _Kiku's _chest was a complete understatement.

Heracles eyebrow twitched for the god knows how many times today. In the end, he still got to go to Kiku's house, but he didn't know what was in store. He didn't think he would be subjected to the never ending shrieks and whines of the American. He didn't know how Kiku could stand it, and watch horror movies at the same time with a passive face on. What's worse is that the American is seated between _him _and _Kiku_. He couldn't make a move, like he originally planned.

"Waaaaah, Kikuuu," the American whined. Heracles resisted the urge to throw the American out of here. He glanced at Kiku, who was sipping his green tea and had a blank look on his face, as if blood, gore, random body parts everywhere and America screaming like a sissy are normal, everyday things. He seemed to be used to America clinging onto him and not actually watching the horror movie.

This is bad.

God knows how many times they've been together, like this! All close and cuddly and stuff.

Thinking about this angered the Grecian, he was about to shove the American off the couch but something interrupted him.

Strange music, no wait, it was just someone talking really fast with some funky beat, emitted from the pockets of the American. Fear suddenly evaporated from the American as he took out his cell phone and answered it.

"Alfred speaking," there was a pause before the American responded to the voice in the cell phone, "Yes I am with Kiku and no, I am not screaming like a sissy while watching horror movies. They are manly chuckles, I tell you!"

Heracles took all his will power not to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm coming, don't get your panties in a bunch," Alfred said, the Grecian man can hear the exasperation in his voice. He then rudely hung up on whoever was on the other end of the phone. Getting off the couch, he flashed a smile at Kiku.

"Sorry, bee-eff-eff, but Arthur and I have a date that I didn't know about until that phone call that was made, so I got to go now. See you around," the American took his jacket that was lying on the floor and made his way to the exit.

Finally, Heracles mused to himself, the American left. He snuck a look at the Japanese man, although his face still had the same blank expression, his eyes rendered the message 'oh-shit'.

It hurt him, just a bit, that Kiku thought that he would try something inappropriate without his consent. Pushing this thought to the back of his head, Heracles scooted over towards the Japanese man. Heracles noticed how tense the Japanese man immediately became, as if it was a reflex.

"Kiku," Heracles said quietly, trying to get the Japanese man's attention over the blood curdling screams that were emitted from the television.

Kiku apparently didn't hear him, or just ignored him on purpose and used the movie as an excuse. Heracles started poking the quiet man, and it paid off once the Japanese man turned around and narrowed his eyes at the Grecian man.

"Yes, Heracles-san?"

"…I'm bored. Let's do something."

Kiku sighed, "What do you want to do?"

"How about we go out to eat, and then visit the hot springs?"

Kiku started blushing madly. The last time he visited the hot spring with Heracles didn't end up so well.

"I rather not," the Japanese man declined politely, "Besides, I need to return this horror movie to Alfred-kun as soon as possible."

"Come on," Heracles pleaded slightly, "I'm not asking you to go through a naked inspection. All I want to do is spend quality time with you."

Kiku's blush intensified tenfold, and he coughed slightly. Heracles found this rather amusing, but still didn't budge, "Are you really enjoying this horror movie?"

"…No, it's rather tame compared to other Japanese horror movies," Kiku replied truthfully.

"Exactly," Heracles smiled, "So let's do something together."

"…Fine, but no hot springs," Kiku responded, sighing in defeat.

"Are you still upset that you slept with me?" Heracles asked, wondering if it troubled the Japanese man.

"Sleep? What? We never did such things," the Japanese man exclaimed incredulously, Heracles sighed, he was obviously in denial. He couldn't help it, they were both drunk on sake, but of course, Heracles remembered every detail that happened that night after he sobered up. He didn't think Kiku was able to do such things, but that night proved him wrong. Of course, when the Japanese sobered up and remembered the night as well, he went hysterical and threw Heracles out and locked himself in his house for more than a week.

"Yes. We. Did. I don't mind if we do it again, to tell you the truth," Heracles said, his voice neutral.

"W-w-what?" The Japanese man started spluttering, he would've chocked on his tea if he had taken a sip right there, obviously shocked by his blunt statement.

"You know," Heracles was suddenly close, very close to the Japanese man for his comfort, and started purring in his ear, and raked his hand through Kiku's ebony hair.

Before the Grecian can blink, Kiku grabbed his arm and flipped him over, throwing him on the floor which caused Heracles to emit a surprised manly shriek.

Kiku, who was still blushing, started stammering an apology in his native tongue.

"G-g-gomennasai," the Japanese man looked at the Grecian, his face filled with embarrassment, whether from the fact that he flipped him over and slammed him into the floor or it was from the fact that Heracles tried to seduce him, the Grecian man couldn't decide. It was probably a mixture of both.

"Well…" Heracles cleared his throat, and got up, dusting his pants, "I'm going to go now. Got to annoy Turkey… maybe I'll sleep on his lawn again. See you around."

Heracles walked away, ignoring the awkwardness in the previous room. Sneaking a peek at the Japanese man, he saw that Kiku was still blushing, but took a seat on the couch and continued watching horror movies with a dazed look on his face.

He needed ways to get closer to Kiku.

Fast. Before stupid Turkey gets too chummy with Kiku. And before Kiku develops a crush on anyone besides him. And before- well, before anyone else has any interactions with the Japanese man that wasn't strictly platonic.

Kiku was his. There is no doubt about it; he just needed to make it happen.

He needed a plan. A sophisticated, convoluted plan that would make the Japanese man fall heads over heels with him. Or at least an explanation on why Kiku is so uncomfortable with him these days, so he can figure out what to do next.

There was one person he needed to see in order for that to happen.

The Grecian snapped out of his daydream and realized he was already outside of Japan's house. Feeling small drops of rain, he groaned. There was going to be a storm.

He sighed, not particularly caring about the fact that he was going to soaking wet in a matter of minutes. Taking out his cell phone and flipping it open, he pressed a few buttons until his contacts opened up. He saw the name of the person he was looking for.

Bingo.

* * *

"… I appreciate the free food, but why are we here again, aru?"

Heracles glanced at the Chinese man who was sitting in front of him, sipping his green tea calmly. They were at an actual Chinese restaurant, in China and just ordered their meals. Well, China did all the ordering, since he couldn't exactly speak Chinese. His brown eyes were filled with curiosity and slight confusion.

"You know Kiku, right?" The Heracles began, trying to casually bring him the topic on the Japanese man. He really didn't know how well their relationships were in the East, he was really too busy gaining independence and warring off other countries, making sure his nation wouldn't be invaded by other dictator-esque nations.

"…You mean that no good bastard who quite literally stabbed my back, aru?" China's eyes narrowed, his lips twisted upwards in a menacing smile. The chopsticks he was gripping suddenly made a forceful contact with the table, causing a few jars of spices on the table to jump slightly.

"Um, no, I'm talking about the cute little Japanese boy who likes green tea," Heracles said softly. He hopefully did not offend the Chinese man in front of him who looked a bit psychotic at the moment.

"You wonder where he gets it from," the Chinese man muttered in his native language before switching back to English, "We're definitely talking about the same person."

At this moment, the waitress came with a tray of food, setting down the pan fried noodles, fried rice, congee, dim sum, dumplings, and other various things they ordered. The Chinese man took majority of what they ordered, taking advantage of the free meal, while the Grecian grabbed a bowl of fried rice and a small dish of appetizers.

Picking up his bowl and straightening his chopsticks, the Chinese man brought the bowl to his mouth and started eating. The Grecian man on the other hand, used a spoon and picked at his food from and time to time, taking small bites.

"I was wondering if you can help me get together with him. I mean, he's, uh… very shy. And you're both Asian-"

The Grecian was stopped in the middle of the sentence, a pair of chopsticks flew past him like shirukens, the chopsticks grazed his face slightly, but it didn't break his skin and make him bleed which the Grecian was grateful for. Instead, it left a trail of saliva mixed with particles of food.

His puzzled teal eyes met the somewhat angry brown eyes of the Chinese man.

"First mistake, aru," the Chinese man began, his voice laced with mild irritation, "Just because we're Asian, it doesn't mean we're carbon copies of each other. Next time, the chopsticks won't just graze your face. But back to Kiku." Heracles made a mental note; surely he wouldn't forget and not offend probably one of the only ways he would be able to get any useful information on Kiku.

The Chinese man shouted at one of the waiters passing by, asking for a pair of chopsticks. The waiter then produced a pair of new chopsticks, handing it over to the Chinese man.

"I like Kiku, a lot," the Grecian continued, "And I want to-"

"Fuck him like an animal, aru?"

"-yes, in fact- wait, what?" Heracles stuttered a little, taken by surprised, "No, I do not mean to agree with that, it's just that I-"

The Chinese man placed his hand out of the Grecian man, motioning for him to stop. The Grecian man did, unsure of the Chinese's motives.

"No need to say anymore. I understand, aru," the Chinese man nodded before releasing a burp that amused Heracles to an extent, "Kiku is a naturally shy person, you guys haven't… you know… tangoed before, have you, aru?"

"I'm sorry, but I have two left feet," Heracles answered, a bit confused.

"….sex," the Chinese man sighed, wondering how dense the Grecian is despite the fact that he is supposedly very good at it, or at least that's what he hears from other nations.

"Er…. Yes, but we were both drunk," Heracles responded, "And remember the week where he didn't attend the meeting?"

It wasn't an uncommon thing for nations to skip out of the ridiculous meetings, but some people such as Kiku and Ludwig, it's as if the apocalypse is coming if they even cut once.

The Chinese man nodded, it had been frightening for a lot of people, and he didn't exactly forget it.

"He was moping around because of that," Heracles sighed, "You know, I think he enjoyed, after the way I-"

"Okay, stop, I don't need my virgin ears tainted!" China squealed before Heracles can even finish the rest of his sentence, "I get it, aru."

Heracles highly doubted that he was a virgin, not after what he have seen between him and Russia, but played a long anyways.

"Kiku isn't a person who thinks sex is an important part of a relationship, aru. Instead, he's more of a person who enjoys the time spent with his partner, and that he's looking for something more emotional than physical," the Chinese man said surprisingly clear even though he had a mouth full of food, "Besides, he's deathly afraid of intimate contact, the most he's ever given me was a hug. So, of course, he would naturally want to forget that passion-filled night your guys had, aru. You have to take things slow with him, he's been in isolation for so long, so it's hard for him to get used to things as quickly as other nations. He might still be mad at you for 'hot spring' incident, as you put it, aru."

Heracles thought about what the Chinese man was saying, and it made a lot of sense to him. Suddenly, a pang of guilt hit him, wondering if he scared the Japanese man in any way he didn't mean too.

"One more thing, aru," the Chinese man said, catching Heracles attention, "Have you guys ever shared an umbrella?"

"Um, yeah. I was visiting one time, this was before the hot spring incident," Heracles pondered for a moment, wondering if he was remembering the right thing, "We were looking for stray kittens and it started raining. Kiku apparently expected it, because then an umbrella appeared out of nowhere…"

The Chinese man's smirk intensified, "Don't worry about it much. Just confess to Kiku and make it clear that you aren't there because you just want to be in his pants."

"Ah, thank you very much," the Grecian responded, smiling.

"Oh, don't thank me. I just have one thing to say though," at this point, the Chinese man set his chopsticks on top of the various empty bowls that were stacked. Heracles just looked at the pile in surprised, wondering when and how it accumulated to this size, "this is a five star _ke cha _place, aru." The Chinese man popped a toothpick from a small container on the table and started picking his teeth with it.

"Well, better pay. I need to get out of here before that idiotic Russian hunts me down, _again_," the Chinese muttered to himself.

Heracles took out his wallet and looked at the contents of it. He then glanced at the stack of bowls. He and his wallet will not be happy after this…

"_Jie don_!" the Chinese man exclaimed.

* * *

Kiku peered out of his window.

It was raining, again. It has been raining for two consecutive days already, today would make the third.

Kiku sighed, looking gloomily at the heavy shower. He really disliked the rain. It would flood some parts of Japan, and not only that, but you can barely get out and get groceries or household necessities without getting somewhat wet.

He glanced out of his window again, hoping to see some sunshine, or at least some sign of the rain stopping, even slightest bit would be a good sign. Yet, the sight that met him was the continuous downpour. Kiku noticed a bunch of high school students, who probably was just released from school, running in the rain and sharing umbrellas with their beau.

Kiku looked away, a slight blush on his face and back on the TV. He was drinking green tea and watching a drama that was currently on. It's not like he had a thing for dramas or anything, he just couldn't go out in the weather and get the latest horror movies to enjoy.

Okay, maybe he can since the movie rental store was just across the street, but he didn't feel like it at the moment. He was still moping at the fact that the friendship between him and Heracles is ruined due to the fact that he stupidly slept with him. Although he always secretly wished for something more, Kiku didn't expect Heracles to suddenly start hitting on him and treating him like some sort of… object, almost.

He'd rather stay friends and have some sort of relationship that they can both cherish instead of a relationship with lust and passion behind the wheels.

The drama that was playing soon turned into a commercial, advertising many of Japan's products. He wished his best friend, Alfred, was here. Despite the fact he was rather… dimwitted, he can give relatively good advice when it comes to relationships. That and it was nice to have someone to talk to from time to time.

Kiku got up, suddenly feeling the rumble in his stomach. Glancing at the clock, it was already pretty late in the afternoon. He walked towards the kitchen, hoping to finish off some left over sushi he had from about two days ago. Entering the kitchen, he opened his fridge just to realize that he finished off the sushi yesterday. Glancing around, he noticed that he didn't have any workable ingredients to make a meal out of.

"Looks like I do have to go out," Kiku mused to himself, closing the fridge.

Suddenly, an upbeat melody started playing out of nowhere, which scared Kiku enough to make him jump slightly. Due to the fact that he watched too much horror movies for his own good, he was slightly paranoid when he's at home by himself. He exited the kitchen and into the living room, where the source of the melody was coming from.

He reached towards the small compartment underneath his television, and pulled out a rather dusty cell phone that was vibrating non-stop. Staring at the strange contraption which he hasn't seen for awhile, he looked at the caller ID.

_Heracles Karupsi_

Kiku just stared at the cell phone in shock. The only people who know his cell phone number was his boss, Ludwig and Feliciano. The last time he checked, he was pretty sure that Heracles didn't know he had a cell phone. Then again, his cell phone recognizes the number so Heracles must've gotten to it during one of the times he was at his house. Kiku's fingers automatically opened the cell phone and placed it to his ear.

"Moshi moshi," he spoke softly into the cell phone. He then realized what he did, semi-shocked.

"_Kiku?_" a voice that was interlaced with static emitted from the phone. His cell phone was outdated; the quality was poor compared to the models they sell now. Still, Kiku could make out his voice quite clearly and the background noises.

"Yes," the Japanese man answered back.

"_Ah, I see_," Kiku could make out some of the background noises, which consisted of some cars honking by, and what sounded like rain.

"_Well, Kiku. Remember that park we used to go to? Yeah, can you meet me there?_"

Kiku was slightly taken aback by the demand and surprised at the same time that Heracles was so close by, "Er… sure. Do you have an umbrella?"

"_No, I'm soaking wet. Bring an extra one for me, please. Well, I'll see you there._" The line was suddenly disconnected; all Kiku could hear was the dial tone, which was ironic since everything else was distorted by static. Closing his cell phone, he got up and quickly walked towards the front door of his house. Slipping on a pair of shoes, he grabbed an umbrella from the bunch that was sitting in a bucket.

He opened the door and proceeded to open his umbrella.

"Looks like I did end up going outside," Kiku murmured to no one in particular.

* * *

Heracles closed his phone, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He also wondered if he would regret it, after all, he was soaking wet and probably on the verge of getting hypothermia. Sneezing, he wondered when the Japanese man would come. His house was pretty close to this park, they've been here before because the sky is the clearest here. They would sit on the grassy lawn and point out different shaped clouds that would looks like some random object in their own eyes.

Sneezing again, he felt a shiver running through his spine. His teeth were chattering. Maybe it was a bad idea to just come here spontaneously without being prepared. He didn't know that it was raining cats and dogs over in Japan.

He stared down the block, and saw a familiar silhouette. Heracles's eyes instantly lit up; maybe he won't end up freezing to death after all. Maybe the worst that could happen is pneumonia.

The silhouette got closer and closer, and it turns out it was just some random school boy, running probably towards his house in order to get some proper shelter from the unrelenting rain. As he passed by the Grecian man, he flashed a look of curiosity, but didn't bother stopping.

Heracles sighed. Maybe Kiku didn't come after all. Getting up from the bench, he started walking before he felt someone tapping on his shoulder.

Jumping in surprise, he was startled by the gesture. He turned around to see a shorter male standing behind him, holding a pretty big umbrella.

It was Kiku.

"Baka," the shorter man shouted at the Grecian, who was taken aback by the usually passive Japanese, "You could've waited at a store or something! You're going to get sick, really sick. Baka, get under my umbrella already."

"S-sure," the Grecian man complied with his order. Kiku lifted his umbrella, and the Grecian got under it, departing from the rain. He was glad that he stopped feeling the rain on his back, but he didn't see the point since he was already soaking wet anyways.

"Let's go back to my place, I'll get you a change of clothes," Kiku muttered, face palming himself for the Grecian's stupidity.

He started walking, which forced Heracles to start walking beside him.

The rain was still going, hitting the concrete sidewalk in a _pitter-patter_ that was quiet melodic, almost hypnotic. The air between them was thick and laced with awkwardness. Heracles could practically feel the tension in the air, slowly suffocating both of them.

"Kiku," Heracles began, breaking the ice and getting the Japanese man's attention. His head shifted slightly towards him and proceeded to cock an eyebrow, "Um… I just want to say sorry. I understand if you don't want to have, uh, any more contact with me."

"…Baka," the Japanese muttered softly, his face contorted with pain, "What makes you think that?"

Heracles bit his lip, his heart suddenly aching at the expression the Japanese man displayed, and contemplated about whether or not to give him an answer he'll like or the truth.

"Because, you've been acting strange around me and your actions constantly imply that you don't want to hang around me," Heracles answered.

"Really?" the Japanese man sighed, "I still want to be friends, you know. I value our friendship, a lot. I don't want it to cease because of something trivial."

Heracles felt lighter, as if a giant burden was lifted from his shoulders.

"Thank you," Heracles smiled at him, causing the Japanese man to blush.

"N-no problem."

The duo continued to walk in the rain in silence, the air was slightly awkward but not as tense as before. Heracles decided to bring up a topic in order to lighten the mood.

"Kiku, I've been practicing my Japanese again," Heracles waited for him to give him the interested look he always gives.

"Really? I would like to hear it," Heracles could practically feel the amusement in his voice.

"Uh, yes," Heracles felt a bit nervous about what he was about to say, but continued on, "_Watashi wa, anata o aishite i masu._"

The Japanese man suddenly blushed, his face ten different shades of pink, but underneath that, Heracles spotted that a very small smile.

"That's not bad, but the pronunciation is all wrong. Let me demonstrate for you" Kiku suddenly stopped and looked the Grecian straight into his green eyes, his own brown orbs filled with indescribable emotion.

"_Watashi mo anata o aishite_."

Heracles eyes widened in shock, and stood there dumbfounded.

In a minute, his face broke out in pure happiness.

"Come on, you're going to catch a cold, baka," the Japanese man muttered, provoking the Grecian man into walking again.

"Even if I do get sick," Heracles said, his voice teasing, "I know you'll nurse me back to health."

"S-s-shut up," Kiku's blush intensified, and gave Heracles a slight glare.

Heracles responded with a laugh.

Looks like his sophisticated, convoluted plan worked in the end.


End file.
